'A big help': El Centro offering free citizenship preparation classes

Located in east Tulsa, El Centro is doing its best to provide immigrants with important information and resources.

2 News talked to El Centro about these plans in July:

One of its newest programs includes a completely free tutoring program for immigrants trying to pass their citizenship exam.

Denni Blum has taught English at El Centro for several years, but noticed there was a need for something more specific.

"I just noticed that some students were talking about taking the citizenship exam," she said.

She said she told the director she would be willing to teach people what they need to know to prepare for the citizenship test.

Once it was all approved, Blum wanted to revolve learning around having fun.

"I am a person that loves to play games, and I think that's one of the greatest ways to learn anything," she said.

"Because of the background that these students come from, they've already had a tremendous amount of trauma, and so they're stressed about a lot of things. They don't need to be stressed about this test."

Silvli Da Silva is a student who tries her best to come every Saturday.

She is originally from Brazil and said she didn't know any English when she got to the United States.

"English is hard," she said. "I need to practice."

She said she recommends this class to anyone looking for extra help.

"More people means more help," she said. "I have people here from Ecuador, Venezuela, from different countries."

She also said having more people makes communicating and learning easier.

"I'm just so happy to be a part of this journey with them," said Denni Blum. "I can see the success already happening just with maybe attending three Saturdays."

The classes are held at El Centro every Saturday from 1:30pm to 3:00pm.

ESPAÑOL: Una versión de esta historia en Español esta disponible aquí

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